Sometimes review writing is hard. Sometimes you don’t have a lot to say. Sometimes you’re just lazy as fuck. Sometimes you’re just trying to clean up the backlog of reviews because you’ve been a terrible blogger lately. These are Rapid Fire Reviews.
Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren
Published by Gallery Books on October 22, 2019
Pages: 368
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
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Short Summary: When eighteen-year-old Tate fell in love with Sam, she couldn’t foresee that he’d not only break her heart but her trust. Fourteen years later everything has changed but when Tate sees Sam for the first time since that day, she realizes that her heart never truly recovered and never truly got over him.
Thoughts: This story felt completely mediocre until the last 20%. Then it felt like I was sledding down a hill on a piece of cardboard and that fucker was deteriorating before I had even hit the bottom.
Verdict: This was not the standard of book I’ve come to expect from this duo. Between the lackluster side characters, the laughable subplots, the super “I don’t even buy this crap” type of romance, and the ridiculous ending, I’m just going to pretend like this didn’t happen.
In a nutshell, GIF style:
I received this book free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
Published by Del Rey Books on July 2, 2019
Pages: 800
Genres: Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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Short Summary: After a comet passes over the Earth, seemingly random individuals in a sleepwalk state begin walking as a group in the same direction towards an unknown destination.
Thoughts: This one had a lot of layers between the sleepwalkers, their loved ones following their progress across the United States, the religious nutters, the multitude of characters, and then the explanation of everything, but in all honesty the comparisons to The Stand were erroneous.
Verdict: Wanderers starts out very strong but between the unnecessarily long page count and a few curveballs in the plot that I found wholly unnecessary, this one essentially lost me when it was all said and done.
In a nutshell, GIF style:
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire
Series: October Daye #13
Published by DAW Books on September 3, 2019
Pages: 368
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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Short Summary: The Unkindest Tide, the thirteenth installment, when the Sea Witch decides it’s time for the Selkies to finally fulfill their promise and Toby must be there to help her bring the Roane back.
Thoughts: This installment was the most tedious since this series began and I’m not sure if it was my expectations of awesomeness, the plot, the marshmallow ending, or Toby’s proclamations like “Someone call for a hero? I asked, and punched her in the face, but reading this was like slogging through quicksand.
Verdict: This installment felt like a whole lot of filler and did little to nothing to progress the actual storyline. Or maybe not, maybe the small moves in this series will amount to something far greater later, but as it stands, I was simply expecting more from this.
In a nutshell, GIF style:
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews
Series: Hidden Legacy #4
Published by Avon on August 27, 2019
Pages: 393
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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Goodreads
Short Summary: Catalina Baylor, the new Head of House Baylor, begins investigating a double murder that just so happens to involve her teenage crush Alessandro Sagredo.
Thoughts: The original Hidden Legacy series was filled with snarky humor, off the charts chemistry, and fascinating worldbuilding. This spinoff series is lacking everything but the latter.
Verdict: I absolutely adore this magical world that IA has created and while I’m pleased that they decided to continue writing stories set in this world, Catalina and Alessandro just aren’t Nevada and Rogan. I’m still satisfied with the story itself so it’s not a complete loss.
In a nutshell, GIF style:
I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy
I’ve read a lot of similar reviews for The Unkindest Tide, so yours doesn’t surprise me. I was curious about Sapphire Flames, too bad it didn’t quite live up to your expectations!
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…The Friday Face-Off: 60s Horror
Bonnie
It wasn’t the best but it wasn’t the worst. I’ll still keep reading the series though. 🙂
Bonnie recently posted…Rapid Fire Reviews – Twice in a Blue Moon, Wanderers, The Unkindest Tide, Sapphire Flames
Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies
Ha ha ha, we’re so not in agreement on Wanderers and The Unkindest Tide! I do have Twice in a Blue Moon coming up this month… now I’m a little nervous. 🙂
Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies recently posted…Oh so pretty! The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss
Bonnie
Lol Then maybe you’ll love Twice in a Blue Moon, too!
Bonnie recently posted…Rapid Fire Reviews – Twice in a Blue Moon, Wanderers, The Unkindest Tide, Sapphire Flames
Dani
Oh, CL. It was downhill from the first jab at Britney for me.
Dani recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: 2019 Anticipated Releases, Part Deux
Bonnie
hahahaha I think by that point I was already so irritated it didn’t really register.
Bonnie recently posted…Rapid Fire Reviews – Twice in a Blue Moon, Wanderers, The Unkindest Tide, Sapphire Flames
Jennifer | Book Den
Yeah, Wanderers lost me, too.
Jennifer | Book Den recently posted…Recent Updates and Currently Reading | October 6
Bonnie
I had such insanely high hopes for it too. Still bummed.
Bonnie recently posted…Something To Look Forward To – Week of October 7th, 2019
Barb @ Booker T's Farm
Love these rapid reviews and the GIFs kind of say it all 🙂
Bonnie
hahaha Only one of them had a gif at first and I just felt like that wasn’t fair.
Bonnie recently posted…Something To Look Forward To – Week of October 7th, 2019
Rory
I liked Wanderers more than you did, but it certainly wasn’t The Stand. I picked up Sapphire Flames at my library after I saw it here, I didn’t know IA had another out in the series. I need to read the novella with the wedding now though…
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Bonnie
I think everyone liked Wanderers more than I did. lol Oh, well. And yes, you definitely need to read the wedding novella. It was a nice intermediary story.
Bonnie recently posted…Something To Look Forward To – Week of October 7th, 2019